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Uncomfortably Numb: John Carpenter directs Amber Heard in THE WARD.

How does a review show handle the situation where two, exciting, soon-to-be-classic films are released on the same weekend? We don’t know, but this weekend saw the release of JOHN CARPENTER’S THE WARD and the Kevin James comedy, ZOOKEEPER, so we decided to cover both of those instead. Granted, there’s not much of a correlation between a horror film in which a young woman (Amber Heard), having been involuntarily imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital, must protect herself and her fellow inmates from the malevolent force seeking their destruction, and an Adam-Sandler-backed laugher in which James is schooled in the ways of love by a clutch of chatty zoo animals, but Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons are game lot, and always ready for a challenge. At the very least, they consider whether John Carpenter’s long absence from the feature screen is one of the more regrettable flaws of the present film industry, and whether James might want to consider his own extended hiatus.

PRODUCTION NOTE: Larry was having some problems with his microphone, which we attempted to fix — not particularly seamlessly — in post. We hope to have this patched up by next week’s show.

Click on the player to hear the show.

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Pssst, Courtney, David REALLY Wants to Make the Split Permanent: Courtney Cox ignores the warning signs in SCREAM 4.

Poor Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell). Not satisified with the ordeals she suffered in SCREAMs 1 – 3, she’s gotta go and tempt fate by returning to Woodsboro and tempting the attention of the psycho killer Ghostface, who it turns out is still kicking around and slaughtering high-schoolers with manic glee. And if the main protagonist of the SCREAM series (along with her co-stars David Arquette and Courtney Cox) hasn’t taken that old saw about not being able to go home again to heart, could it be possible that neither has director Wes Craven nor writer Kevin Williamson, who with SCREAM 4 attempt to reboot their long-nascent satirical horror franchise with an installment that pokes fun at — surprise, surprise — reboots of long-nascent horror franchises? Join Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons as they debate the issue.

Continue reading »]]> It’s another weekly round-up of news, events, and home video releases at the Cinefantastique Round Table, the podcast with a Sense of Wonder. Dan Persons, Lawrence French, and Steve Biodrowski focus their sights on what’s happening in the world of horror, fantasy, and science fiction cinema, including a discussion of the dissolution of Robert Zemeckis’ mo-cap empire, Larry’s take on BATTLE: LOS ANGELES, Steve’s review of Walt Disney Home Video’s TANGLED Blu-ray disc, and Dan’s thoughts on the unusual horror film, BLACK DEATH, and the finale of BIG LOVE. Also on the table for discussion: a fond farewell to actor Michael Gough, a fine character actor who appeared in numerous genre films, ranging from HORROR OF DRACULA (1958) to SLEEPY HOLLOW (1999). Plus previews of the week’s upcoming theatrical releases.

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A Roll in the... Hey!: Carla Gugino and Tim Olyphant sweat up the sheets in ELECTRA LUXX.

Should a movie about a pregnant porn star fleeing her past and questioning her future be this much fun? If it’s Sebastian Gutierrez’s gleefully frisky ELECTRA LUXX, yeah, sure. As he did with this film’s predecessor, Gutierrez has gathered a talented, largely female cast, including Carla Gugino as the titular Electra, Adrianne Palicki and Emmanuelle Chriqui as a couple of colleagues trying to suss out the depth of their friendship, Marley Shelton as a desperate stewardess, and Kathleen Quinlan as an ambitious author. To add to the fun, he also fortifies the cast with some notable male participants, including Tim Olyphant as a charming detective, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Electra’s video-blogging chronicler, and Justin Kirk as a melodramatically righteous husband. What with Levitt’s frequent, Greek chorus interjections, sexy musical fantasy numbers, and even a side-trip into South American melodrama, the narrative through-line is, shall we say, a little eccentric, but no less fun for all its tagents.

Click on the player to hear my interview with Gutierrez.

This Episode is Brought to You by:
RANGE ROVER
Feel the Pulse of the City!

ELECTRA LUXX
Trailer
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www.elektraluxx-movie.com

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Even More Magical Kingdom?: The 3D wonders of TANGLED.

For their 50th animated feature film, Walt Disney Pictures presents TANGLED – a CGI modernization of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “Rapunzel.” Is this the new millennium equivalent of Disney classics like BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, or is it a failed and schizophrenic attempt to meld the new and the old into one uneasy mix? Find out as Dan Persons, Lawrence French, and Steve Biodrowski visit this 3-D wonderland, asking such pertinent questions as: “Is there such a thing as a Not-All-That-Wicked Stepmother?” and “Are two cute animal characters one too many?” Also this week, we bid farewell to director Irvin Kershner (THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK) and actor Leslie Nielsen (FORBIDDEN PLANET). Plus, the usual round-up of news, events, and home video releases.

Continue reading »]]> So how about a little break from the filmmaker interviews? Yellow Tail — the wine people — have started up a new website that recruits film critics to pair wines with movies, and in connection with that got in touch with me about talking with critic and journalist Ben Lyons. Since I’ve recently been involved in looking back and forward on the present year in film from the genre side (you can hear the Cinefantastique summer review here, and the Chronic Rift fall preview here and here), I thought it might be neat to do a more inclusive overview with Ben, as well as chat a bit about the reviewing life with him.

So here’s a quick little discussion between Ben and me on where we stand so far, and what good stuff may yet be coming. And, if you’re so inclined, you might want to check out the website at reserveyournight.com — the idea’s cool and the recommendations are good. I’m talking with them about contributing as well, there — that stuff’ll probably start in October.

Click on the player to hear the conversation.

Continue reading »]]> Jeff Bridges returns to the game grid, Harry Potter faces down some deathly hallows — whatever the hell those are — and Jacques Tati gets animated as CHRONIC RIFT producer/host John Drew and I pick up our discussion of the cinematic goodness that will be greeting us as the year raps up. And if TRON: LEGACY, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, and THE ILLUSIONIST (the latter by the wickedly idiosyncratic animator Sylvain Chomet and based on an unfilmed script by the legendary Tati) don’t give you the tingles, hang on kid, cause that’s just the smallest fraction of what’s coming up in November and December.

Click on the player to discover how much you’ve got to look forward to.

And if you somehow missed the first part of this discussion, you can hear it here.

Continue reading »]]> In the latest weekly installment of CFQ’s Post-Mortem Podcast, Dan Persons, Lawrence French, and Steve Biodrowski offer a free-form follow-up to this Cinefantastique Podcast, including further in-depth insights on the dreamscape of Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION and a look at the big-budget disappointment, THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE, starring Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel, and loosely inspired by the Mickey Mouse episode of Walt Disney Pictures’ FANTASIA (1940).

Continue reading »]]> In CFQ’s Post-Mortem Podcast (or should that be Podcast Post-Mortem?), Dan Persons, Lawrence French, and Steve Biodrowski offer a free-form follow-up to the regular Cinefantastique Podcast, including further in-depth insights on the minutia of PREDATORS and a look at the week’s other big genre release, DESPICABLE ME, the hilarious 3-D animated film from Universal Pictures. Also included at no extra cost: films that inspired Stendhal Syndrome-like reactions (i.e., mind-blowing) and films that inspired “morning after” regret (i.e., “Why did I ever think that was any good?”).

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Household War: John C. Reilly (left) faces down Jonah Hill in CYRUS.

Wow. Four films worth talking about, all opening in the same week, and I’ve got interviews for all of them. I’m also pretty strung out to begin with, so I’m not going to attempt to get them all in within a single show, or even a couple of shows. Instead, we’ll start off with two comedies that are somewhat interrelated because they both break the mold in their own ways. Then, next week, we’ll be back with one episode looking at a fantastic documentary about the event that gave birth to the gay rights movement, and another episode about a beautiful and riveting drama from Italy starring Tilda Swinton. (Yeah, I could tell you titles, but, hell, listen to the show — they’re mentioned at the end).

Flawed Production: Agnès Jaoui (left) endures the ineptitudes of Jamel Debbouze (center) and Jean-Pierre Bacri in LET IT RAIN.

This week, we’ve got Agnès Jaoui discussing LET IT RAIN, her film about a politician (Jaoui herself) enduring an inept documentary crew (Jamel Debbouze and frequent Jaoui collaborator Jean-Pierre Bacri) in her public life, and family friction in her private one. As with the director’s previous effort, LISTEN TO ME, the interlocking havocs set the stage for a keenly nuanced view of the human condition, only this time with a considerably lighter tone.

Marisa Tomei (left) and John C. Reilly in CYRUS.

Then we’ll be talking with Jay and Mark Duplass about their new film CYRUS, wherein John C. Reilly tries to woo Marisa Tomei while fending off attacks from her passive-aggressive, live-at-home son, played by Jonah Hill. And if that log-line gives you chills, remember that the Duplasses were responsible for such cutting-edge, indie projects as THE PUFFY CHAIR and BAGHEAD. Here, they let that feeling of spontaneity — ganged to an exceptional cast — work its magic, and the result is a comedy with a refreshing sense of humanity.

Good stuff this week, with even more to come next. Click on the player to hear the show.

This episode is brought to you by:
GET HIM TO THE GREEK

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LET IT RAIN
Trailer

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www.ifcfilms.com/films/let-it-rain

IMDB Listing

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CYRUS
Trailer

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www.foxsearchlight.com/cyrus

IMDB Listing

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When Reilly was Cyrus (sort of).